In this Death Match, succeed in venturing through the dungeon more than your opponent. (Original design by Masato Uesugi, Hisanori Hiraoka & Antoine Bauza)
| Designer(s): Non-original Game | Match Type: DM (for 2 players) |
| Featured in: DM Colosseum 2, The Genius Puzzler | |
WELCOME TO THE DUNGEON
Are you brave enough to delve into the dungeon, or will you chicken out at the right opportunity?
This game has never appeared in a previous The Genius ORG before. However, it was used in DM Colosseum, starting from Round E. This game is taken from the board game of the same name, invented by Masato Uesugi under the name Dungeon of Mandom, and then further developed by Hisanori Hiraoka and Antoine Bauza. The DM Colosseum version had a lot of variety with equipment pieces and picking new ones; this version pares it down substantially.
GAME RULES
⚙️ Setup and terminology
The game features 13 monsters, identified by their strength: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 9. (1-5 appears twice each. There is no 8.) Monsters can be present either in the deck, in the dungeon, or discarded. At the start of every adventure (see below), all monsters are shuffled into the deck, and throughout the adventure, monsters will be either added to the dungeon or discarded. Monsters are always face-down and unknown to the public until the end of the adventure.
In addition, the game also features a warrior with some amount of health points (HP), plus a number of equipment pieces with special powers. At the beginning of the game, the warrior has all equipment pieces, and throughout the game, equipment pieces will be taken off, giving less powers to the warrior.
The set of equipment pieces are described below under the "equipment pieces" heading.
Note that the monsters, the deck, the dungeon, the warrior, and the equipment pieces are all shared between both players. Both players will act on these shared components.
The game is divided into adventures. In each adventure, one player wins or loses; the other player doesn't get any result. In other words, if a player wins an adventure, it doesn't mean the opponent loses; instead it means the opponent doesn't get any result, neither a win nor a loss.
🧠 On your move
Within each adventure, players alternate turns, starting from the starting player. The starting player of an adventure after the first is the one that went into the dungeon during the previous adventure. On your turn, you may either draw or pass. Passing leads to the resolution phase, described below. If the deck is empty, you must pass.
If you draw, you will be privately given a randomly drawn monster from the deck. You must additionally decide one of two choices:
- Add the monster to the dungeon. You add the monster to the dungeon. The monster is added to the front of the queue so it is encountered before the other monsters already in the dungeon.
- Discard the monster and an equipment piece. You discard the monster, as well as an equipment piece; you cannot choose this action if there is no equipment left on the warrior. You can discard any equipment piece still on the warrior.
In both cases, the monster's identity is not revealed to the opponent. Once you have made your decision, it's the opponent's turn.
🔍 Resolution phase
Only the player that didn't pass will participate in the resolution phase; the player is said to enter the dungeon. The resolution phase is automatic.
One equipment piece (Vorpal sword) requires a decision made before the resolution phase, if the equipment piece is still present on the warrior. After that, the resolution phase begins.
The warrior starts with a number of health points. The warrior has a base amount of 3 health points. In addition, two equipment pieces (knight shield and plate armor) give the warrior additional health points, if still present on the warrior.
The warrior will then face each monster in the dungeon; discarded monsters are not encountered. Monsters are encountered in reverse order: the last monster added is the first monster encountered. (In technical terms, the dungeon is a stack of monsters.) In general, the equipment pieces allow you to defeat a monster satisfying certain conditions. If you encounter a monster that you can defeat using one of your equipment pieces, you will defeat it and take no damage. If you cannot defeat it with any equipment piece, it attacks you; you lose a number of HP equal to the strength of the monster, and then you proceed to the next monster.
💎 Winning
You survive through the dungeon and win the adventure if, by the end of the dungeon after facing all monsters in it, you have positive HP (1 or greater). You succumb to the dungeon and lose if you run out of HP.
You win the game if any of the following conditions is met:
(You can interpret this as a best of 7 bouts, with each adventure being a bout, except that if you get your third win or your opponent gets their third loss, it counts as two bouts.)
🔍 Equipment pieces
These are the equipment pieces. These are the same pieces as the Warrior character in Welcome to the Dungeon.
The warrior has a base HP of 3.
ADMINISTRATION
🏷️ Writing your move
On your turn, you must first state whether to draw or pass. After that, you will receive a reply from the host telling which monster you drew. You must state whether to add the monster to the dungeon or to discard an equipment piece, and if discard, which one. The equipment piece must still be on the warrior.
👁️ Available information
You should make your moves in the public game room.
The public information is made of the equipment pieces still on the adventurer, the number of cards in the dungeon, and the number of cards in the deck. The resolution phase will also be public.
Note that the dungeon is a queue; that is, the monsters are ordered according to the time they are added into the dungeon. Monsters are encountered in reverse order, starting from the last one added; this matches the description that adding a monster to the dungeon adds it to the front of the dungeon, i.e. the one you'll encounter earlier. In the case the warrior succumbs early, other monsters are not revealed.
The monsters drawn by each player are private information and will not be revealed until the resolution phase. Discarded monsters are not revealed at all.
⌛ Timing
You have 90 seconds per turn, plus a time bank of 5 minutes. Note that a turn is made of two of your choices: drawing and then adding/discarding. The timer is paused after you draw, and resumed after you receive your drawn monster (although it's expected we only take 5 seconds at most to resolve this). If you run out of time, you lose the entire game, not just an adventure.
CLARIFICATIONS
📌 Monster order in the dungeon
The dungeon is ordered. The last monster added to the dungeon will be the first one encountered in the resolution phase. This ordering only matters for information: if the warrior succumbs to the dungeon, further monsters are not revealed.
In DMC, there were several equipment pieces that cared about monster ordering as well. They are not present in this version, but I still keep the rule about monsters having an order.
📌 Examples
The following is an example resolution phase.
Knight shield and holy grail have been discarded; the remaining equipment pieces are still present. That means the warrior begins with HP of 8 (3 base HP + 5 from plate armor).
Since the warrior has the Vorpal sword, the player chooses a monster strength. They choose 5.
The first monster revealed is a 2. This is defeated by the torch. The holy grail that would defeat this was discarded, but the torch also defeats this, so it's all good.
The second monster revealed is a 3. This is also defeated by the torch. Note that an equipment piece is never used up.
The third monster revealed is a 4. The holy grail would have defeated this, but it's discarded; therefore, the warrior takes 4 damage, bringing down to 4 HP.
The fourth monster revealed is a 5. The Vorpal sword defeats this due to the selection.
The fifth monster revealed is another 5. The Vorpal sword defeats this as well.
The sixth monster revealed is another 4. The warrior takes 4 damage, bringing down to 0 HP. The warrior has succumbed to the dungeon, and the player loses. Any future monsters in the dungeon are not revealed.
📌 Clarification: Shared components
All components in this game are shared. There is only one deck of monsters, there is only one dungeon, there is only one warrior, and there is only one set of equipment pieces. Both players will draw from the same deck, add to the same dungeon, and remove from the same set of equipment pieces. Whatever is left will be taken by the player that resolves the dungeon.
Death Match 10: Welcome to the Dungeon
Are you brave enough to delve into the dungeon, or will you chicken out at the right opportunity?
This game is taken from the board game of the same name, invented by Masato Uesugi under the name Dungeon of Mandom, and then further developed by Hisanori Hiraoka and Antoine Bauza. It was used in Death Match Colosseum and Death Match Colosseum 2, hosted by chao.
GAME RULES
Setup and Terminology
The game features 13 monsters, identified by their strength: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 9. (1-5 appears twice each. There is no 8.) Monsters can be present either in the deck, in the dungeon, or discarded. At the start of every adventure (see below), all monsters are shuffled into the deck, and throughout the adventure, monsters will be either added to the dungeon or discarded. Monsters are always face-down and unknown to the public until the end of the adventure.
In addition, the game also features a barbarian with some amount of health points (HP), plus a number of equipment pieces with special powers. At the beginning of the game, the barbarian has all equipment pieces, and throughout the game, equipment pieces will be taken off, giving less powers to the barbarian.
The set of equipment pieces are described below under the "equipment pieces" heading.
Note that the monsters, the deck, the dungeon, the barbarian, and the equipment pieces are all shared between both players. Both players will act on these shared components.
The game is divided into adventures. In each adventure, one player wins or loses; the other player doesn't get any result. In other words, if a player wins an adventure, it doesn't mean the opponent loses; instead it means the opponent doesn't get any result, neither a win nor a loss.
Between adventures, all equipment is restored and the deck is reshuffled.
On Your Move
Within each adventure, players alternate turns, starting from the starting player. The starting player of an adventure after the first is the one that went into the dungeon during the previous adventure. (The Death Match Opponent selects the first starting player.) On your turn, you may either draw or pass. Passing leads to the resolution phase, described below. If the deck is empty, you must pass.
If you draw, you will be privately given a randomly drawn monster from the deck. You must additionally decide one of two choices:
- Add the monster to the dungeon. You add the monster to the dungeon. The monster is added to the top of the stack so it is encountered before the other monsters already in the dungeon.
- Discard the monster and an equipment piece. You discard the monster, as well as an equipment piece; you cannot choose this action if there is no equipment left on the barbarian. You can discard any equipment piece still on the barbarian.
In both cases, the monster's identity is not revealed to the opponent. Once you have made your decision, it's the opponent's turn.
Resolution phase
Only the player that didn't pass will participate in the resolution phase; the player is said to enter the dungeon. The resolution phase is automatic, with one possible exception.
The barbarian starts with a number of health points. The barbarian has a base amount of 4 health points. In addition, two equipment pieces (leather shield and chainmail) give the barbarian additional health points, if still present on the barbarian.
The barbarian will then face each monster in the dungeon; discarded monsters are not encountered. Monsters are encountered in reverse order: the last monster added is the first monster encountered. (In technical terms, the dungeon is a stack of monsters.) In general, the equipment pieces allow you to defeat a monster satisfying certain conditions. If you encounter a monster that you can defeat using one of your equipment pieces, you will defeat it and take no damage. In addition, one item (Vorpal Axe) involves a decision during this phase; you may choose to defeat a Monster immediately if you could not otherwise. If you cannot defeat the monster with any equipment piece, it attacks you; you lose a number of HP equal to the strength of the monster, and then you proceed to the next monster.
Winning
You survive through the dungeon and win the adventure if, by the end of the dungeon after facing all monsters in it, you have positive HP (1 or greater). You succumb to the dungeon and lose if you run out of HP.
You win the game if any of the following conditions is met:
(You can interpret this as a best of 7 bouts, with each adventure being a bout, except that if you get your third win or your opponent gets their third loss, it counts as two bouts.)
Equipment pieces
These are the equipment pieces. These are the same pieces as the Barbarian character in Welcome to the Dungeon.
The barbarian has a base HP of 4.
Healing Potion: When you die, come back to life with 4 HP (once per Dungeon).
Chainmail: Add 4 HP.
Leather Shield: Add 3 HP.
Vorpal Axe: Upon drawing a monster in a Dungeon, you may choose to defeat it immediately (once per Dungeon).
War Hammer: Defeat monsters with strength 5.
Torch: Defeat monsters with strength 3 or less.
ADMINISTRATION
Timing
You have 90 seconds per turn, plus a time bank of 5 minutes. Note that a turn is made of two of your choices: drawing and then adding/discarding. The timer is paused after you draw, and resumed after you receive your drawn monster (although it's expected we only take 5 seconds at most to resolve this). If you run out of time, you lose the entire game, not just an adventure.
Submissions
On your turn, you must first state whether to draw or pass. After that, you will receive a reply from the host telling which monster you drew. You must state whether to add the monster to the dungeon or to discard an equipment piece, and if discard, which one. The equipment piece must still be on the barbarian.
In addition, during a resolution phase while you still have the Vorpal Axe, decide for each monster whether you want to use it on that monster or not.
Information
You should make your moves in the public game room.
The public information is made of the equipment pieces still on the adventurer, the number of cards in the dungeon, and the number of cards in the deck. The resolution phase will also be public.
Note that the dungeon is a stack; monsters are encountered in reverse order, starting from the last one added. This matches the description that adding a monster to the dungeon adds it to the front of the dungeon, i.e. the one you'll encounter earlier. In the case the barbarian succumbs early, other monsters are not revealed.
The monsters drawn by each player are private information and will not be revealed until the resolution phase. Discarded monsters are not revealed at all.
SEEDS
To aid with practice, we have prepared 20 random decks. Each deck contains the 13 monsters in a random order, and then each one is put in its own spoiler. How you want to use these decks is up to you.
A : 3 1 2 5 6 2 1 4 4 3 7 9 5
B : 2 1 4 4 6 2 9 1 5 3 7 5 3
C : 7 2 4 4 6 3 9 3 1 1 5 2 5
D : 3 5 2 1 9 6 3 7 2 1 4 4 5
E : 2 3 6 1 3 5 4 2 4 5 7 1 9
F : 4 1 3 5 5 1 9 2 4 3 2 7 6
G : 1 1 9 4 6 3 2 5 7 2 4 3 5
H : 5 4 1 9 2 2 5 3 1 6 4 3 7
I : 5 2 4 3 5 3 7 6 2 1 9 4 1
J : 1 9 7 2 3 4 2 5 3 5 6 1 4
K : 9 4 6 4 2 3 1 5 7 2 1 5 3
L : 5 9 4 2 7 3 6 1 2 5 1 3 4
M : 3 7 2 1 5 4 1 3 5 2 4 6 9
N : 6 5 1 5 3 2 2 9 3 7 1 4 4
O : 9 5 3 2 1 5 4 4 7 6 3 1 2
P : 1 2 3 1 4 4 5 7 5 6 2 9 3
Q : 6 3 4 7 9 2 5 1 4 2 1 3 5
R : 1 4 2 7 6 3 4 5 5 1 2 3 9
S : 4 7 6 1 5 1 5 4 9 2 3 3 2
T : 4 7 1 5 9 3 5 2 1 6 4 2 3
Battling (The game involves players attacking each other.)
Cards (The game involves cards of any kind.)
Drafting (The game involves players drafting items from a pool, usually by taking turns or using a priority system.)
Luck (The game involves an element of luck.)
Miscellaneous (The game tests a miscellaneous set of skills.)
Psych (The game tests the players' psychological & bluffing abilities.)
RPG (The game takes elements from role-playing games, such as having stats and skills.)
Turn-based (The game involves players taking turns one after another.)